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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Honey & Sea Salt Almonds: This is an incredibly easy, incredibly tasty recipe. The salty-sweet combination is great and it only needs 4 ingredients. These almonds also go well in salads or on their own as a snack or appetizer.

Cocoa-Cherry Smoothie: I don't love smoothies for breakfast, but this made the perfect afternoon or post-workout snack. My husband and I love it but my toddler especially can't get enough (as you can see from the picture).

Grilled Garlic Flatbread: I was looking for an alternate to pita (as delicious as pita is, I wanted to change it up), and the result was this soft, flavorful bread. I love the texture and taste!

Seafood Chowder: Stealing a tradition from my cousin Dan, we're planning to make this our annual Christmas Eve dinner. Too bad it only happens once a year, because this version includes clams, scallops and salmon. So good!

Black Bean Soup: For a much healthier soup, it's hard to beat this one. Plus, we top it with many of my favorite things: Greek yogurt, avocado, cheddar cheese and cilantro. After reviewing the list of 2014 recipes, I immediately added this one to my weekly menu since it was too good not to make again (and again and again).

Aussie Chicken: This combination is as good as it sounds: chicken, cheddar, bacon and mushrooms. I consider this an excellent meal for a nice at-home date.

Refried Beans: I've made this recipe too many times not to include it! It's now my go-to Mexican side dish. It also freezes really well, so pretty much every time I make it, I regret not doubling the recipe.

Fig, Feta & Pecan Salad: Now that we have a fig tree in our yard, we ate this salad multiple times over the summer and never tired of it! It's a wonderful combination.

Cauliflower Tots: This made a great side dish that my husband and I loved...almost as much as our toddler. I found a recipe that seems like it held together well, and I love that you can sneak in a vegetable while still making dinner fun.

Tiramisu: There's a reason why we saved this one for last. It was not only our favorite dessert of 2014 but our favorite overall recipe. I was originally too intimidated to make tiramisu (it just sounds hard), but it wasn't as bad as I imagined, and it came out so amazing that it's worth any amount of effort. I'm just sorry that I have to wait for the next birthday to come around to make it again!